Come to think of it, the most exotic cars I see are on the web or in magazines — until I got to South Florida… Spotting at least one or two speeding Bentley Continental Coupes or a Lambo per day is not unusual. Witnessing some outrageous moves on the expressway, stuff that would get you shot in Small Town USA, I don’t think that I would want to commute in my nice ride but rather, an 80’s GMC pickup truck beater. People would tend to make way. I’m using a Ford Taurus rental mobile to get to the beach. Must take care to return it whole.
All posts by cs
celebration
Yesterday was the official hangar rollout for the enormous A380 in Toulouse, France. Over here, at our Airbus training center outpost, I thought there might be some fanfare hupla spill over. Being at the right place at the right time: maybe some bubblie? or at least, score a slice of cake? No dice 🙁
layman’s terms
The newspaper describes Titan, recently explored by the Saturn probe Huygens, as a place “amazingly like our own planet, Earth”. Such a bold statement immediately draws us in. (a disclaimer expands: “like the earth was 4 billion years ago that is…” A long time. The next statement predicts earthlike lakes and rivers. (filled with liquid methane chilled to -293 degrees). The atmosphere is mostly nitrogen and poison gas. Hardly earthlike at all.
The actual message: The science community is excited because this is the first planetoid that we’ve explored that is not a dead lifeless rock (such as our own moon) but a dynamic evolving developing place.
But, in order to get ordinary folk stimulated into thinking, the NASA PR machine has to speculate about extraterrestrial beings or make comparisons to things that we are familiar and can interpret: lakes and streams, places to campout or go fishing maybe.
illegal parking
I would estimate it was a late ’80s Continental, the model that shared a stretched platform and the drivetrain with the Ford Taurus sedan. Imagining that it was once someone’s proud new luxury car it had long lost its clear coated glossy metallic sheen to the elements. It had been abandoned in our hotel parking lot long enough for spider webs between tires and pavement. We even thought we saw a tumbleweed wedged under, curious for a place like Florida. The old car sat bottomed out on its legs, the air ride suspension had leaked down. We wondered whether it had been stolen. Whether there was a body in the trunk. Maybe the owner was trying to skate the airport parking garage fee. Well, today a hook came and dragged the mystery away. Maybe someone will return to claim it. Maybe not.
errata
Seeing as how I’m on my own for the next few weeks, I thought that I’d report that I was able to do my laundry without losing any socks! Nevertheless I’ve been spoiled for the last two decades with excellent treatment at home. Thanks BOURGIRL!
The city water from the spigot tastes very fine. No need for bottled. How unusual is that?
The local paper is served in two flavors: El Nuevo Hearld:Noticias, Horoscopos, Entretenimiento, Deportes and regular.
What is old is new again
The trees were wiped clean by Hurricane Andrew ’92 but the nature trail / sea wall loops that I explored just the same, were lush with sea grasses, palmettos, shrubs and native plant restoration. My jog route was landmarked by the Cape Florida Light house on bottom and No Name Harbour at the top boundary. Lots of warm sun. I had the idea to contact the realtor to find us a winter home 😉 but BOURGIRL sez, “it’s kinda high rent” here. Aw shucks.
Flew Normals 1 in the Airbus Sim today which included a raw data, hand flown approach to Washington Baltimore Intl. While this stage involves deep concentration, this is because we are still absorbed in understanding what does what when why and how. The mechanics of the beast will become instinctive after a period of time as we progress. We will get into additional routines and abnormals, that will make these early lesson plans look like piece o’ cake.
first date
too bright but notsobright
With the recent rash of “Laser painting” reports against random homeland aircraft and the worry and fret for industry economic health (panic amongst those who buy airline tickets), it was only a matter of time before they lassoed one. It is only too easy to arm oneself with one of these devices. They sell them at the Home De Pot in the shape of a carpenter’s level for less than 15. The sucker – caught – will pay a huge price as they attempt to make a poster child out of him. Nip this fad in the bud.
Pollo Tropical
The traffic signals take on new definition during the evening commute. Yellow means go. Even after the light goes Salsa, this means at least one more car and usually two get through. A reprieve of sorts — No study for tonight… The verbal exam for tomorrow’s AM has been pushed back. So, after a plastic cup of draft from the lobby (comp) and a few war stories traded poolside we ventured down Red Road for heaping plates of roast pork, black beans, and rice local style.
AB narrow body 1
Today started with a stress test, a 2 1/2 hour written exam, and several in our group had tummies doing flip flops. But, after we got rolling it was a routine validation of what we know that we already knew. We’d been studying the pure magic of system logic (a.k.a PFM) for most of December. Passing this milestone we were rewarded with the “dollar ride”, a 60 minute hop in the simulator. 30 minutes stick time, each. An intro flight that wet appetites and demonstrated the advanced protections that make our new bird the safest yet. The automation — impressive. WOW!